On Monday, October 15, 2013, M. 7.2 earthquake shook
the Bohol-Cebu area of the central Philippines. Scenic 16th-centry
church buildings came down crumbling, while countless houses turned into
rubles. Many lives have been lost, while
even more people have been sustaining injuries.
Many have lost not only their homes but also their loved ones and means
to earn incomes. They are at loss. Shock, perhaps, confusion, and numbness, are
typical initial reaction to traumatic losses. Because of numerous aftershocks,
they are also living in anxiety.
The earthquake in the Philippines really hit home,
similar to the way it did when M. 9.0 earthquake and more-than-10-meter-high
tsunami waves, followed by radiation disaster, hit the northeastern Japan on
March 11, 2011. This disaster in the Philippines affects me this way because my
close friends’ families in the Bohol-Cebu area lost their memory-filled
homes. They are now living on the piles
of rubles of their homes, wondering how they are going to rebuild their lives –
how they are going to bounce from this challenging reality.
While the Bohol-Cebu area has had numerous
aftershocks, there was just another
large earthquake, M. 7.1, off the Fukushima coast, Japan, in the Pacific Ocean,
as I was writing this a while ago (October 26, 3:10 am in Japan ). Just to
remind us more that we are always subject to challenges and sufferings,
challenging us to see how we will respond.
This difficult reality reminds us that life sure
comes with inevitable and inescapable sufferings – no matter how advanced we
may become in our wisdom and scientific technologies. The ultimate question is not to what to do
but rather how we face sufferings when they are inevitable and inescapable. I
believe that this has a lot to do with the quality of life and meaning of
life.
In this blog entry, I would like to address how we
are to confront inevitable and inescapable suffering in our life, focusing on
our inner strengths, namely, our psychospritual resilience, which has been my
research interest. I am going to discuss
this in light of Christian theology, Buddhist thought, Japanese cultural
tradition, and Filipino cultural tradition, as well as perspectives in
psychology.
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“Life is difficult”, said M. Scott Peck, in
“Roadless Traveled”. Life indeed is
difficult as it comes with series of trials. In fact, it is in the Four Noble
Truth of Buddhism that life is suffering (dukkha). And, Jesus has also reminded the apostles
that following him means to accept and embrace suffering and even a possibility
of death (martyrdom ) by overcoming attachment to our own selves (Luke
9:23). In my 6/25/2013 blog entry, “Costly
Grace in Bushido-like the Christian Discipleship - A Reflection of the
Scripture Reading on the 12th Sunday Year C”, I associated Jesus’ teaching
on embracing suffering and a prospect of death for the sake of him, meaning,
for a saintly honorable salvation, in light of the essence of Bushido, the code
of samurais, in Japan. It is to draw
meaning from inevitable and inescapable suffering. In a way, this theme can be further extended in light of Edward Schillebeeckx’s theological
argument on discerning salvific value from suffering and Pauline theological view on meaning of
suffering (finding joy in suffering, not to be confused with masochism).
Of course, nobody wants to suffer. Our human instinct rather drives us to avoid
and evade suffering, also as Sigmund Freud’s pleasure principle (seeking
pleasure/comfort, avoiding pain/suffering) argues. In fact, neither Jesus Christ nor Shakamuni Buddha have taught that we should seek
suffering . Neither Jesus nor Shakamuni
were masochistic. What they have taught is how we can respond to and embrace
suffering rather meaningfully, because the way we deal with our sufferings
leads us to the cessation of suffering in Buddhism and to salvation in
Christianity.
In the Four Noble Truth of Buddhist teaching,
accepting the truth that life is suffering leads to another truth that
suffering can be seceded. In Jesus’
teaching in Christianity, by his own lived example, suffering and death must be
accepted and embraced, as they come, in order to attain salvation. As Buddhist teaching reminds us that the kleshas (mental instability due to
insecure heart), which is rooted in the Three Poisons (ignorance/moha ,
attachment/raga, anger-ridden
aversion/dvesa), keeps us locked in a
vicious cycle of sufferings, both Christian and Jewish teachings remind us that
ignorance about God’s majestic power, especially His salvific power, can keep
us in repeated sufferings, as in the case with Job in the Book of Job.
Besides Jesus and Shakamuni, clinical psychology offers some helpful
teachings on dealing with inevitable and inescapable sufferings, in particular,
through the concept of post-traumatic growth (PTG) of Richard Calhoun &
Lawrence Tedeschi (2004) and in the concept of tragic optimism of Viktor
Frankl. Additionally, Morita Therapy’s
foundational concept of acceptance (accepting the given reality as it is – arugamamani) is another important
teaching from psychology in dealing with suffering meaningfully to turn it a
critical opportunity for new growth, as in PTG. According to “Posttraumatic
Growth: Conceptual Foundation and Empirical Evidence” by Calhoun &
Tedeschi (2004), PTG is a process to turn experience of traumatic suffering into
a critical opportunity to grow with resilience.
Roderick McCormick & Paul Wong (2006) discuss
how Frankl’s concept of tragic optimism works in PTG in “Adjustment and Coping
in Aboriginal People” of “Handbook of Multicultural Perspectives on Stress and
Coping”(eds. Paul Wong & Lilian Wong). In my “Mono
no aware” for the Realistic Hope for Post-March-11” in International
Network of Personal Meaning, Part 1 of Special Issue, 2011, I pointed out
that Frankl’s tragic optimism concept, as elaborated by Paul Wong, can be
applied to enhance the effect of Morita Therapy. Therefore, it is clear that PTG, tragic
optimism, and Morita Therapy are all associated and helpful in responding to
inevitable and inescapable sufferings in a way grow with resilience, while
draping upon new meaning of life.
We just don’t know when our lives would have to face
sufferings. Although we do our best with
human wisdom to avoid sufferings, we cannot completely escape from sufferings. What both Jesus and Shakamuni teach us is how
we can cope with sufferings when we cannot escape from them but have to face
them. And, along with the teachings of
Jesus and Shakamuni, the psychological concepts of PTG, tragic optimism, and
Morita Therapy offer helpful perspectives in regard to how we can accept and
face sufferings in order to grow with resilience and to draw new meaning in
life. It is always good to be prepared
for unexpected inevitable and inescapable sufferings. For this, let’s take a further look into
helpful ideas.
******
Suffering, Patience, Stability, Strengths, Endurance, Faith, Hope, and
Love******
First, we need to accept and understand the fact
that life on earth is not free from suffering, as we cannot be totally immune
from devastating and traumatic impacts of natural disasters. To Christians,
life comes with sufferings as Christian life can be subject to persecution. It is also best to learn from persons who have
suffered and endured the suffering in a way of PTG. And, we can find such persons in the
Scriptures – Jesus, of course, and Paul.
According to Paul, what we need in dealing with
inevitable and inescapable sufferings is endurance. And, endurance certainly comes with hope, as
he reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 1:2-4. In this, Paul unceasingly encouraged
the Thessalonians to engage in work of faith, labor of love and endurance in
hope of Christ, as they were facing great challenges.
“We give
thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers,
unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance
in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, before
our God and Father, knowing, brothers loved by God, how you were chosen.
“(1 Thessalonians 1:2-4)
Paul knows firsthand that the work of faith and labor
of love demand a lot of endurance in hope of Christ. In fact, in the original Greek text, the word
“endurance” is “ὑπομονῆς”(hypomone).
Within this world, “hypo” (ὑπό) refers to “under”, and “meno” (reμένω) refers to “to remain” and
“to endure”, with a connotation to suffering. Thus, what is conjured up from
the word, “ὑπομονῆς”(hypomone), is
being under suffering, enabling to
remain in suffering, rather than running away from it.
In this aspect, the Greek word for “endurance”, “ὑπομονῆς”(hypomone) invokes the nuance
of this Tagalog root word, “tatag”,
which indicates stability. Together with another ward, “katatagan”, which means enduring firmness with a connotation to an
inherent or inner character, the Tagalog
word ,“katatagang”, offer a similar nuance
to the Greek word, “ὑπομονῆς”(hypomone),
in regard to the quality of lasting and enduring firm stability to be able to
remain under a suffering condition.
It is also noteworthy that Paul used “ὑπομονῆς”(hypomone) together with “ἀγάπη”(agape),
to say “love and endurance” in 1 Thessalonians 1:3. In fact, the Greek word for “endurance”, “ὑπομονῆς”(hypomone),
also means “patience”. Thus, endurance and patience are considered closely
related. Also, the way Paul puts it, for
love to be agape, it comes with endurance.
It means that love as agape is about patience and endurance. This
explains why Paul said, “love is patient” in 1 Corinthians 13:4, using the same
and relevant Greek words, “ἀγάπη”(agape)
is “μακροθυμέω”(makrothumeo).
The Greek
word,faith (πίστις/pistis),
hope (ἐλπίς/eplis), love (ἀγάπη/agape), . And, all of these are
associated with endurance. It is Paul
who also said suffering (θλῖψις/pthlípsis) produces
endurance (ὑπομονή/hypomone), which cultivates
character, and the character brings hope (Romans 5:3-4). Thus, through Paul’s
view in Greek words, we can see clearly how endurance is related to patience
and love, through suffering.
Putting our faith in our work, our love in our
labor, and our hope in our endurance is how we live as Christians. It also
comes with love as agape , which comes with a connotation to enduring
suffering. It means that our unceasing
faith, love, and hope, are manifested in our work, labor, and endurance. This way, we can accomplish many missions with
love, as we are called, in spite of many obstacles and sufferings. This is how we can ensure that none of these
setbacks will stop us and keep us from our engagement in missions. It takes endurance, which is about faith,
hope, and love. As Paul said, “But now faith (πίστις/pistis),
hope (ἐλπίς/eplis), love (ἀγάπη/agape), abide these
three; but the greatest of these is love”(1 Corinthians 13:13), love is the
most important factor for our endurance, as Christians.
Through, the 29th Sunday Gospel story,
Luke 18:1-8, Jesus speaks about our need to get engaged in our prayers and
faith-driven actions unceasingly, even though our prayers and works may not
bring any tangible result as we desire. What Jesus challenges us is our tendency to
give up when our efforts, whether in prayer or in work, do not bear tangible
fruit as we want. He wants us to build
endurance so that we can become more patient with our efforts, being able to
continue our efforts in prayer and work in spite of having no results soon and
even with setbacks.
In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus teaches us that we need to
pray and work unceasingly with persistence that matches the widow’s
uncompromising and unyielding persistence, which eventually convinced the very
reluctant judge to rule for justice.
Such persistence is also found in Hannah’s petitioning prayer to God for
a child (1 Kings 1-11), as well as Monica’s prayer for Augustine’s conversion. This kind of persistence also means endurance necessary not only to accomplish
our missions and to fulfill our life’s purpose but also to cope with sufferings
and to grow through struggles as in the case of PTG. Thus, the biblical sense of endurance that Paul and
Jesus present through 1 Thessalonians
1:2-4 and Luke 18:1-8 corresponds to Viktor Frankl’s concept of tragic
optimism, which is, in fact, essential to PTG, according to McCormick and Wong
(2006), as aforementioned.
In fact, persistence and endurance, like the widow’s
(Luke 18:1-8) is a manifestation of strong and enduring faith, like a mustard
seed, that can even move a mountain (Matthew 17:20). The persistence
and endurance, as expressions of steadfast faith, makes God’s grace works best
through us, as we must cooperate with God’s grace , in order for the grace to
bear its fruits, for unconstructed grace to become constructed grace.
In fact, Jesus also tells that we need this kind of
persistence in seeking and searching through a parable of a friend ,who asks
his neighbor persistently for loaves of bread to provide hospitality for his
friend unexpectedly visiting in Luke 11:1-13.
As the unconcerned judge was eventually moved by the widow’s persistence in asking for justice and granted justice for her (Luke 18:1-8), the reluctant neighbor also would finally offer the friend something because of his persistent asking (Luke 11:1-13). Both of these parables of Jesus teach us the importance of persistence and endurance in fighting setbacks to accomplish our missions. But, the lessons of persistence and endurance are also applicable to endure inevitable and inescapable sufferings in light of tragic optimism. This way, we can cope with sufferings though a PTG process, discerning deeper meaning and stronger resilience of life to grow. And, if suffering is for love, in our practice of agape, our love grows deeper in its meaning and more resilient in its power.
As the unconcerned judge was eventually moved by the widow’s persistence in asking for justice and granted justice for her (Luke 18:1-8), the reluctant neighbor also would finally offer the friend something because of his persistent asking (Luke 11:1-13). Both of these parables of Jesus teach us the importance of persistence and endurance in fighting setbacks to accomplish our missions. But, the lessons of persistence and endurance are also applicable to endure inevitable and inescapable sufferings in light of tragic optimism. This way, we can cope with sufferings though a PTG process, discerning deeper meaning and stronger resilience of life to grow. And, if suffering is for love, in our practice of agape, our love grows deeper in its meaning and more resilient in its power.
Being a Lutheran and existential theologian, Paul
Tillich can best connect the above-mentioned biblical view on persistence and
endurance to Viktor Frankl’s concept of
“tragic optimism”. From this, we can
further understand how the biblical concept of persistence and endurance is
applied in PTG, Morita Therapy, and “Sikolohiyang
Pilipino”(Filipino psychology) in order to apply it to discern a way for
those who have been affected by the earthquake in the Philippines.
Paul Tillich, in his unique existential concept of
“courage , describes this type of persistence and endurance in light of the
defiant spirit against all odds, and it is courage that defeats difficult odds.
Tillich states, “Courage
is the self-affirmation of being in spite of the fact of nonbeing. It is the
act of the individual self in taking the anxiety of nonbeing upon itself by
affirming itself either as part of an embracing whole or in its individual
selfhood. Courage always includes a risk, it is always threatened by nonbeing,
whether a risk of losing oneself and becoming a thing within the whole of
things or losing one’s world in an empty self-relatedness. Courage needs the power of being, a power
transcending the nonbeing which is experienced in the anxiety of fate and
death, which is present in the anxiety of emptiness and meaninglessness, which
is effective in the anxiety of guilt and condemnation. The courage which takes
this threefold anxiety into itself must be rooted in a power of being that is
greater than the power of oneself and the power of one’s world. Neither self-affirmation
as a part nor self-affirmation as oneself is beyond the manifold threat of
nonbeing. ” (“The Essential Tillich”, p. 168)
Tillich sees that we would slip into the quagmire of
despair if we lose courage, the courage to be who we are. What Tillich describes as “courage” is the
kind of courage steeped in steadfast faith that Paul had – the kind of courage
that endures all sufferings and trials. And, the courage that Tillich describes
is what is necessary for persistence and endurance that Paul and Jesus teach.
The Tillich’s view on courage also parallels Frankl
views on how hope can keep us from a loss of meaning in life. In Frankl’s Logo Therapy theory, there is the
concept of “tragic optimism”, whose premise is, like Buddhism teaching, that
suffering, guilt, and death are three factors, which we all must face. Suffering, guilt, and death in Frankl’s tragic optimism concept to confront are also
similar to the objects of Tillich’s threefold anxiety – fate, death, guilt, and
condemnation.
Similar to Morita Therapy in Japan, Frankl’s Logo
Therapy is to help us to face unavoidable and inescapable suffering, guilt, and
death, meaningfully. This is echoed by Tillich’s concept of courage to face
obstacles and setbacks, so that we will not fall into despair. What is important to Frankl’s concept of
tragic optimism’s premise of facing inevitable suffering, guilt, and death, is
acceptance. And, the importance of acceptance is the foundation of Morita
Therapy. Therefore, Morita Therapy’s core concept of accepting the reality as
it is (arugamama ni) augments
Frankl’s concept of “tragic optimism”, enhancing the courage of being in
Tillich’s concept.
As in the case of Morita Therapy, both Jesus and
Shakamuni teach that we accept inevitable and inescapable sufferings as they
are, rather than resisting or trying to evade. In Buddhism, our attempts to
resist such sufferings are considered as a problem of “hakarai”, mental calculation. And, it is considered as a
contributing factor for increasing the magnitude of the suffering.
Psychologically, “hakarai” is an ego defense reaction, and it makes a person rather
coward. To put it in Tillich’s view, “hakarai”
is counter to “courage”, thus, contributing to problems of “nonbeing”, not
living a life fully. This problem, what Tillich calls “nonbeing” is the
pscyhospiritual condition of existential emptiness, which Frankl calls “noögenic
neurosis”. Therefore, we must overcome our ego-driven “hakarai” to prevent us from sinking into “nonbeing”(Tillich) or
“noögenic neurosis”(Frankl).
The “hakarai”
is a psychological manifestation of fear and anxiety due to fragile ego. It becomes a psychological resistance to accepting
the reality as it is. To put this in Morita Therapy’s term, “hakarai”
resists “arugamama ni”
acceptance, because of the fear and anxiety to confront difficult elements,
such as suffering, guilt, and death, in reality. Thus, in order to practice acceptance of
inevitable and inescapable suffering as it is (arugamama ni), we need to tackle “hakarai” or any other resistance
stemming from fragile ego. In
Tillich’s view, the strengths necessary to overcome “hakarai” and other ego-resistance phenomena is the courage of
being.
To overcome “hakarai”
with its deep roots in fragile ego, I propose to apply Tillich’s concept of
courage of being, together with Frankl’s concept of “tragic optimism”, and
Pauline theological concept of “strong character through endurance of
suffering”( Romans 5:3-4) into the clinical framework of Morita Therapy to
fulfill our missions and purposes of life in spite of setbacks and
challenges. This is, indeed, to adhere
the virtue of “ora et labora” with
the persistence and perseverance, like the widow ‘s persistence to win justice(Luke
18:1-8), like Hannah’s persistent prayer to have a child (1 Samuel 1-11), and like
the Phoenician woman who persistently asked Jesus to heal her daughter (Matthew
15:22-28, Mark 7:24-30).
If we let setbacks stop us, then, we will never be
able to accomplish our mission and fulfill our life’s purposes. This will mean regret, which can further lead
to despair and what Tillich calls “nonbeing”. Life, in reality, comes with many
discouraging factors. Although we know
we are to ask to receive, to seek to find, and to knock to open doors (Mathew
7:7-8), we cannot let any discouraging factors block our path of “being”
(Tillich), “living a meaningful
life”(Frankl), and fulfilling our purposes and missions.
When facing discouragement and setbacks, it helps to
keep hope as in the case with Frankl’s “tragic optimism” to persist and
endure. In the aforementioned Paul’s
message in 1 Thessalonians 1:3, hope ((ἐλπίς/eplis) is used with endurance (ὑπομονῆς”(hypomone)).,
indicating that hope and endurance are inseparable. And, in Greek, the word, hope (ἐλπίς/eplis) , also means trust. Thus, in a biblical sense, keeping hope means
having trust – trust in God. Thus, what
is behind in the teachings of Paul and Jesus on persistence and endurance is
trust in God, in keeping hope, in keeping up with our “tragic optimism” and
“courage of being”, in spite of many setbacks and obstacles.
Whether we can persist on our mission to accomplish
and endure all sufferings depends on how strong our trust in God is. Based on
the teachings of Paul and Jesus, we must trust that God always provide what we
need to remain resilient with endurance,
as these words of Jesus remind:
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke 11:9-13)
Also, from the Gospel reading of the 29th Sunday,
“Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:7-8)
These words of Jesus help us keep our trust in God – God’s provision for us, so that we can remain persistent in our ora et labora mission and endure all sufferings. This way, we can practice our “tragic optimism” and “courage of being” so that we can grow through our sufferings and struggles with increased resilience, as a process of PTG.
Now, we know a bit more about trust, especially trust in God, for our persistence and endurance, as trust and hope go hand-in-hand to fuel persistence and endurance. So far, we have explored relevant concepts to persistence and endurance in regard to the words of Paul and Jesus, Frankl’s “tragic optimism”, Tillich’s “courage of being”, Morita Therapy’s “arugamama ni acceptance”, and Buddhist concept of “hakarai”. From here, I would like to further discuss these factors in the context of Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino psychology) and the Filipino cultural context in order to better understand a way of enduring sufferings in the Philippines.
In my view, there are two important factors in Sikolohiyang Pilipino in coping with suffering with endurance. One is “bahala na”, and the other is “katagagang-loob”. “
“Bahala na” is loosely understood as a Filipino attitude of not struggling but leaving to greater power, especially “Bathala”, the supreme being and omnipotent creator in Tagalog indigenous mythology. To me, this Filipino concept corresponds to the Japanese concept of “shikataga nai”, which is often translated as “it cannot be helped”.
As in the case of “shikataga nai”, “bahala na” is often regarded negatively as a passive fatalism (i.e. Tomas Andres, 1994, “Dictionary of Filipino Culture and Values”). On the other hand, Alfred Lagmay (1977, “Bahala na” in “Ulat ng Ikawang Pambansang Kunpensya sa Sikolohiyang Pilipino”) and F.L. Jocano (1978, ‘Toward a new conceptual orientation of Filipino culture” in “Readings on the Filipino Personality”, ed. V. Enriquez) argues that “bahala na” is not fatalistic phenomena but father a manifestation of courage to accept the reality difficult to accept. Such Lagmay’s and Jocano’s positive take on “bahala na” parallels my argument for “shikataga nai” in the aforementioned article of mine (Nakata, 2011), viewing “shikataga nai” like Morita Therapy’s arugamama-ni acceptance of difficult reality without “hakarai”.
To accept reality difficult to accept as it is (arugamama ni) takes significant strengths (tibay) that endures and sustains for the stability of heart and mind. Thus, “bahala na” in Filipino culture and “shikataga nai “ in Japanese culture come with “katagagan”, the kind of strengths with durability and stability , making it possible to build, rebuild, and restore, if damaged, destroyed and hurt. The Sikolohiyang Pilipino concept of “katatagan” also has a connotation to inherent, inner and internal qualities, according to Joseph Tiangco (2005, “Understanding the Filipino Philosophy of Resiliency: Katatagang-Loob and Its Phenomenological Considerations”). Thus, “katatagang” is often combined with “loob”, which indicates inner self, to express the kind of strengths that enable to bounce back, namely resilience, unique to the Filipinos. To put the resilience expressed with “katatagang-loob” in the Filipino cultural context in the Japanese context, it corresponds to “nanakorobi hachioki”(seven falls, eight rises), the Japanese equivalent resilience to bounce back .
Japanese Dharma Doll
This doll is formed after Bodhidharma, a 5/6th century Indian monk, who brought Zen (C'han) Buddhism to China . Bodhidarma has been known for his extraordinally resilience and as the founder of the Shaolin School of Martial Arts (少林寺拳法）, which demands both strengths and flexibility. The Filipino resilient spirit of "katatagang-loob"is often expressed with a metaphor of bamboo. But, it can be expressed with a metaphor of a (Bodhidharma) Dharma Doll in the Japanese context, to parallel it to the Japanese expression of "nanakorobi hachioki".
Now, it is evident that “bahala na” and “katatagang-loob”are closely associated with each other, as “bahala na”is a phenomenon of “katatagang-loob”. Thus, “bahala na” is not a negative fatalism but rather more like the “courage of being” in Tillich’s philosophy and “tragic optimism” in Frankl’s view, which McCormick & Wong (2006) regard as necessary for PTG. In this sense, “bahala na” is a sign of “tapang”(valor) to fight ego’s temptation for “hakarai”to evade suffering out of fear.
Of course, “bahala na” was originally associated with the omnipotent supreme being in the Filipino mythology, Bathala, there is a sense of trust in this. Literally, “bahala na” means leaving it to the provision and power of Bathala, with utmost trust.
As discussed before, Paul used the Greek word, “ὑπομονῆς”(hypomone) to express endurance, necessary for a PTG-like coping with suffering, to discern salvific value from it. And, this Greek word also has a connotation to trust. Thus, in light of the Greek word, “ὑπομονῆς”(hypomone), the Tagalog concept of “bahala na” also indicates endurance, for its quality of trusting the greater being. Of course, in the Christian context, it is trust in God. And, “bahala na”-like trust in God, in particular, God’s provision, suggests humility. In Morita Therapy, this type of humble trust-driven acceptance of difficult reality of suffering with “bahala na” is understood as “jun na kokoro”, which literally means “pure heart” in Japanese. The “jun na kokoro” in Morita Therapy rather means a heart or mind free from ego’s desire. In this case, “hakarai”, which counters “bahala na”-like courage, “courage of being”, and “tragic optimism”. Not to mention, “bahala na” is what enables to accept the reality of suffering “arugamama ni” or as it is, in the context of Morita Therapy.
“Bahala na” is more like a tip of the iceberg of “katatagang-loob” as the deep inner durable strength makes “bahala na” courage makes it possible to overcome “hakarai” and to accept sufferings “arugamama ni”(as it is) in the Morita Therapy context. And, this acceptance is not a passive fatalism but rather an expression of “tapang”(courage), a Filipino equivalent to “courage of being” in Tillich’s view and “tragic optimism” in Frankl’s view, leading to a PTG-like transcendental growth with resilience.
Namely, “bahala na”-“katatagang-loob” integration is the essence of Filipino resilience, discerned from the current difficult reality on the heel of the major earthquake in the central Philippines this year. This is, indeed, what makes the Filipino uniquely resilient, like a bamboo. And, I have demonstrated in this blog entry, the “bahala na”-“katatagang-loob” Filipino response to inevitable and inescapable suffering also makes sense in light of the teachings of Paul and Jesus, Paul Tillich’s concept of “courage of being”, Viktor Frankl’s concept of “tragic optimism”, Buddhist teaching of the “Four Noble Truth” and warning against “hakarai”, and Morita Therapy of Japan, as well as Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG).
May God continue to pour His grace of healing and power…May those who have been affected by the earthquake accept not only this difficult reality but also God’s grace with the humility and courage of “bahala na” so that “katatagang-loob” be manifested in the persistence and endurance in coping and rebuilding.
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Glossary:
Bahala na (Tg) – acceptance of difficult reality as it is with humility, courage, and trust
Katatagang-loob (Tg) – inner strengths with endurance, resilience
Katatagan (Tg) – strengths, firmness
Tapang (Tg) - courage
Tibay (Tg) – enduring strength
Hakarai (計らい）(Jp) – mental calculation out of ego-driven fear, ego-defense mechanism (Japanese Buddhism term)
Arugamama ni （あるがままに） (Jp) – as it is (Morita Therapy’s term)
Nanakorobi hachioki （七転び 八起き）(Jp) – seven falls, eight rises, a Japanese expression of resilience, with an image of a Japanese Dharma doll constantly bouncing back upon being pushed to fall.
Shikataga nai （しかたがない）(Jp) – literally meaning, it cannot be helped, but it is acceptance of difficult reality as it is with humility and courage – similar to “bahala na”
Jun na kokoro （純な心）(Jp) – pure heart and mind, heart and mind without ego-driven “hakarai” (Morita Therapy’s term)
ora et labora (L) - prayer and work
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